Tag Archives: Centro

photography, San Miguel de Allende

Adorable Aldama door: La Puerta de la Muerta Roja

The crew was just finishing up this door frame on the iconic street Aldama in Centro at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. They were replacing an older one that was all-silk red roses.

I think the skulls are a great touch. How about you?

It is that time of year when “framed art” takes on a special meaning. All over San Miguel doorframes, especially for commercial establishments, are going super-creative with floral arrangements, giant skeletons, woven baskets, dried flowers, geraniums …

… Just about anything artsy that you can think of will be garnishing a doorway somewhere.

This is my favorite, so far. It is simple and clean, yet striking. The blood-red flowers with a touch of orange over each skull just scream Dia de Muertos and Halloween. And the chromed skulls with black sunken eyes — ultra cool and scary too!

This is the handiwork of Pau Gómez Floral Design & Event Creator. And it isn’t every day that you get to see the creators of some of the many wonderful door decorations in action!

That’s Paulina Gómez in the center. With Julio Perez and Oscar Vega. They’ve decorated several doors around town this season. (Need some door art? You can reach them at dspaugomez@outlook.com)

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photography, Reviews, San Miguel de Allende, Writings

Maybe they’re not so loco after all … what a parade!

They did it. The Loco marched, danced, walked, twirled, teased, sweated, tossed candy and rubber balls, waved, smiled, and consumed copious amounts of water and electrolyte drinks on Sunday morning.

And the thousands lining both sides of many downtown San Miguel de Allende streets loved every hot and sticky, broiling, joyous moment of the Contvite de Locos.

What an incredible day.

The city estimates that 130,000 people were in San Miguel for the parade, of whom 5,300 were Locos marching in the parade. Only 43 people required medical attention for heat, falling, tripping, or other maladies. Four individuals were arrested during this very family-oriented festivity.

It is worth noting that the city staffed a number of “hydration stations” along the parade route for marchers and watchers.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende

Dancing their hearts out

It doesn’t look like a funeral, does it? But it is.

Up ahead of all the wildly costumed dancers is a more somber scene — the black hearse, mourners dressed in white shirts and blouses, somber and agonized looks on their faces. They walk at a painfully slow pace down Calle Insurgentes. The pace only enhances the sadness of the moment. In the front row, one mourner carries a picture of an all-too-young man. Beside him, another carries a stone urn with smokey incense.

I do not know who they mourn. I wish I did. It was not my place to ask during such a moment. I only know he had been a member of the Krazy Boyz crew.

Those are the dancers who follow the funeral entourage. You’ve seen them in scores of San Miguel de Allende parades and processions and celebrations. And yes, now, even a funeral.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende

Czech this out

The Janáček Quartet continued the celebration of its 75th anniversary by performing exhilarating compositions from its namesake Leoš Janáček, as well as Antonin Dvořák and Béla Bartók, at Casa Europa in Centro on Wednesday night.

“Of course, we are the second generation,” said Milos Vacek, first violinist, with a sly grin.

That explains the youthful vitality, seasoned with the wisdom of veteran performers and the intuitive interplay of long-time partners.

Their performance was transportive, to say the least. At times it felt cinematic, film noir cinematic. Deeply cerebral, psychologically probing, introspective. A crisp roller-coaster of a conversation between melody and dissonance.

The finale, Dvořák’s “American Suite” was a low-elevation drone flight across the continent (the continent of 1895), inferencing the vast Western expanses and hustle of bustling cities, masted ships in harbor and prairie schooners in search of new lands.

The musicians are (from left) Miloš Vacek, first violin; Vítězslav Zavadilík, 2nd violin; Břetislav Vybíra, cello; and Jan Řezníček, viola.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende

It takes a village to raise a princess

A late afternoon photoshoot in Centro. The retinue of loyal subjects ushers the princess down Cuna de Allende, beside the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel in San Miguel de Allende.

Aides struggle to keep the gorgeous gown from gathering dirt and, as the wind picks up, from billowing out of shape. It takes a sharp eye to notice the very comfortable Fila sneakers beneath the extravagant gown.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende

Give us this day, our daily mariachis

Just kidding. I couldn’t possibly post a video of mariachis performing every day.

Or could I?

No. An occasional mariachi video is quite enough.

I like these guys who can be seen and heard in Centro, San Miguel de Allende, on many evenings. They have style and elegance, multi-generational, and the white suits stand out in a park filled with tourists in T-shirts and too-tight shorts.

At any rate, enjoy.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende

Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays to one and all — join our Christmas Eve stroll

Walking up Aldama to the Parque Principle on Christmas Eve, when the last of nine nights of the Posada is about to begin.

Here’s a short stroll through Centro in San Miguel de Allende on Wednesday night and Christmas Eve. It is always magical this time of year.

We’re taking our traditional stroll tonight, Christmas Eve, to witness the final Posada procession and take in the lights, the sounds, the people gathering about the community tree.

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photography, San Miguel de Allende

At Bellas Artes, listen to Frida, Che, and Emiliano: Wash up, wear a mask, vaccinate

Ok, you won’t listen to me or your brother or your doctor. Then try listening to a few icons of Mexican culture, like Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, and Emiliano Zapata. During 2021, the artist Enrique Díaz has harnessed iconography and linoleum engraving art to deliver the ultimate survival message.

His works — this is only a sampling — is on display in Belles Artes, the recently reopened Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante at Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias #75 in Centro.

Extra: Masked art — like these 10 murals — has been with us since the pandemic began

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photography, San Miguel de Allende, Uncategorized

You up for some photos of San Miguel while I think of something new to blog about?

This is how we sometimes feel the first time we head out into the public square after quarantining at home for 18 months. These two are currently hanging out in Parque Juarez, through Dia de Muertos.

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She’s right, you know, my new friend from the housewarming party the other night: I haven’t written on the blog in a long time.

I owe you all an apology, if, indeed, you actually missed me.

If not, then, hi! Welcome (back) to my blog.

You know how these things happen — someone starts a blog and it goes great for a while, then a pandemic strikes, and life as we know it is suspended. So the writer begins writing interior monologues, surreal short stories, overly long recollections about that dream from last night, and, in the worst of cases, poetry.

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San Miguel de Allende, Writings

Starry and bright: All is quiet on Christmas Eve in San Miguel de Allende

Merry Christmas from beautiful San Miguel de Allende, a city that is no more beautiful than on Christmas Eve.

The city has been decorated for weeks but we waited until this evening to walk through historic Centro. A perfect night for it — the temperature dropped suddenly, the wind picked up slightly, and there were ever so few people out and about.

This is just a brisk tour through the center of this magical city. I took some photos while Rose handed out tangerines and caps that she’d knitted to a few people. Moppit just sniffed the curbs and wondered why we kept stopping to take in the beauty of it all.

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